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Trump 2016? Tycoon may seek Republican nomination

TRUMP 2016?: Donald Trump addresses a ceremony announcing a new hotel and condominium complex in Vancouver, British Columbia June 19. Photo: Reuters/Andy Clark

By Richard Valdmanis

BOSTON (Reuters) – Outspoken real estate billionaire Donald Trump said on Tuesday he may seek the Republican presidential nomination for 2016, claiming he wants to undo President Barack Obama’s legacy.

Trump had toyed with the idea of running for the 2012 Republican nomination but pulled out months before the primary, saying he was not ready to leave the private sector.

“It is something I would certainly look at. You know why? I’m unhappy with the way things are going in America,” he said in a telephone interview ahead of a speech at the “Eggs & Politics” forum at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire – an event that tends to feature presidential hopefuls.

Trump, who made a fortune building skyscrapers and running casinos and hosts U.S. reality TV show “The Celebrity Apprentice,” has long been a vocal critic of Obama and made waves after demanding proof the president was born in the United States.

The White House released the long-form copy of Obama’s birth certificate in 2011 showing that Obama was born in Hawaii.

Trump said that he believed the launch of the Affordable Care Act – Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement popularly known as Obamacare – was an “abysmal” failure and that Obama had not done enough to shore up the economy during his term.

“No one has any idea what’s happening at the top. America is not headed in the right direction, and that worries me,” he said. “I want to talk about what needs to be done.”

Trump has also hinted he could run for governor of New York in 2014, claiming he has a $200 million war chest available for a campaign if he chooses to challenge Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo.